Iraq announced Wednesday it would assume control next week of a key military base from the U.S.-led coalition fighting Daesh terrorists, an issue that has long stirred political tensions in the country.
Deputy Commander of Iraq's Joint Operations Command, Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhammadawi, said the anti-Daesh coalition would hand over to the Iraqi security forces the Ain al-Asad military base in western Iraq and there would be bilateral pacts between Baghdad with several members of the alliance including the U.S., France and Britain.
"The Ain al-Asad base will witness next week a complete withdrawal and will be handed over to our Iraqi forces," al-Muhammadawi said at a press conference in Baghdad.
"This is an achievement pertaining to the Iraqi capabibilities, and Iraqi sovereignty as well as understanding with the U.S. and [other] countries of the alliance on turning the mission into bilaterial memorandums for exchanging expertise and information, and for training," he added without further details.
Iraq is considering signing security agreements with the US after the withdrawal of its forces towards Iraq's semi-autonomous northern region run by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the Saudi-owned al-Hadath television reported Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.
